Vermont men’s soccer wins its first national championship in epic comeback victory

The GIST: History made. Vermont men’s soccer defeated No. 13 Marshall 2–1 in overtime (OT) on Monday to claim its first national title in program history — and the school’s first championship in any team sport. Cardiac Cats, indeed.

How it happened: In dramatic, come-from-behind fashion. Marshall took the lead in the 67th minute with a goal from senior forward Tarik Pannholzer, holding the lead until just nine minutes remained. That’s when Vermont graduate forward Marcell Papp scored the equalizer to force OT.

• Enter: Junior forward Maximilian Kissel, who netted the epic sudden death extra time goal to secure the ’ship for Vermont. Simply incredible.

Zooming out: The Catamounts had been clawing at the door with four straight NCAA Tournament appearances but never made it past the quarter-finals until this season. As if they hadn’t made enough history, they are also the first unseeded team since 2006 to win the title in a non-COVID, full-field tournament.

What they’re saying: "We didn’t finish how we wanted to last year,” graduate defender Zach Barrett said postgame. “So it’s just unbelievable to come back and give more to this program that means so much to me and so much to the entire state of Vermont.” Chills.